Finality

Natsuki awoke in a bed that was instantly familiar to her. Much to her disappointment it wasn't a bed in the manor but a bed in her home in Norfolk. She wondered how she got here, or if this was some kind of dream when the door opened and her mother, Saeko, entered and noticed that she was awake. Saeko quickly crossed the room and threw her arms around her daughter's neck, sitting next to her on the bed. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was worried you wouldn't make it."

Natsuki looked around her groggily and tried to remember how she had gotten here. The last thing in her memory was stabbing Shizuru and being shoved out of a window. Shizuru's voice rang out in her memory. Now it's my turn to save you. "How did I get here?" Her voice was deep and croaky, like one waking up from sleep. "What happened?"

Saeko shrugged. "One of the townsfolk found you near the water's edge. You didn't have any visible wounds or marks but he took you to the hospital anyway and they contacted me. You've been asleep for nearly a week now."

Saeko stood from the bed and Natsuki got up, shakily at first but she found her strength quickly and was soon able to support most of her own weight. She leaned on her mother until she was able to stand on her own, her legs weakened from her long sleep. When she was able to stand on her own she followed Saeko outside. She had never expected to see the farm again and it looked just like she remembered it, only it wasn't her father working the fields. A few men were tending to the rows but she didn't recognize any of them. Other than that it was the same farm that she remembered.

She looked out over the land and to the horizon where the sun was heading down into a sunset full of reds and oranges but it brought her no joy. The oranges and reds reminded her of Shizuru and what had happened between them. She could remember it as clearly as if she were there, felt her arm fly forward, the bite of the dagger into Shizuru's soft flesh, and Shizuru's last words before shoving her out of the window. Now it's my turn to save you.

She had saved her and now Natsuki was able to return to her old life, a life she thought she'd never see again.

That night she sat down for dinner with Saeko and a few of the workers. Her mother had always been an excellent cook but as she ate she was only reminded of her meals with Shizuru and she found herself unable to enjoy the food. "Is something wrong, Natsuki?" Saeko looked across the table at her with a worried look. "You're not eating."

"It's..." She didn't know how to explain what had happened or where she had been. "...nothing." Saeko said no more. She didn't know where her daughter had been or what she had seen but she knew Natsuki would come to her in time.

After dinner they sat in the living room that was just as Natsuki remembered it, the same old cloth chairs around the same old fireplace that crackled with warmth. Some of the men around were asking her questions about the war, they had heard from her mother that she had joined the army and were interested to hear her stories. She had a few to tell but after she was done it was her turn to ask a question. "How goes the war?"

One of the men looked at her quizzically. "You don't know. The war's over, Natsuki. The Confederacy is no more."

The news came as a blow to Natsuki, not due to her love or loyalty to the Confederacy but from a sense of time. When she had entered the mansion the war was still raging with no signs of stopping and now to hear that it was over was like a kick to the head. How long was I in there? She remembered Shizuru saying that she had spent years in that house but she hadn't imagined it until now.

Saeko noticed her reaction and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You must be tired, Natsuki. Why don't you head up to bed?"

Natsuki did feel very tired and took her mother's advice. She found her way to her old bedroom, kept painstakingly clean by her mother she reasoned, and lay down in her bed. It was comfortable but only reminded her of the bed in the manor. She extended her arm but there was no one in the bed but her and her warm bed suddenly felt cold and lonely.

A soft knock on the door proceeded her mother's entrance into the room. She sat down on the bed next to her and ran a hand through her long hair. "I'm glad you're home, Natsuki."

Natsuki closed her eyes. "Me too, mom." It wasn't the whole truth.

-ROSE-

When Natsuki's strength returned she took to the field and helped the men in their work. Most of them eyed her warily, with her slender frame she didn't seem the type to handle physical labor, but when they noticed that she was able to keep up with them they accepted her. Some even lusted after her but she rebuffed them all. "I left my love on the field," she would say with a far off look in her eye and the man would leave disappointed but with a new respect for her.

Every night Natsuki would go to sleep alone, feeling this cold feeling that had become her nightly ritual. Her dreams involved a dagger, blood and a long fall into nothingness. While she was working or when she was relaxing outside her gaze would wander to the west and she would get a distant look in her eyes. It was a look that Saeko knew well. Lost love.

One day Natsuki was standing on the field watching the sun set, her eyes far gone and dreaming, when Saeko walked over and stood next to her. Natsuki looked over at her mother who asked, "Who is this person that has my daughter looking so gloomy?"

Natsuki couldn't explain, couldn't tell her mother about the mysterious woman in the manor covered in fog or about the battle in that study where she had left her love to die. She could say nothing, so she lowered her head and her mother put an arm around her. "Life goes on, Natsuki."

Life did go on, but she often found herself looking off towards the west and wondering what exactly had happened, how she had ended up here and if there was a chance that Shizuru had somehow survived. She would be working in the fields and a light breeze would come from the west and she could swear she heard her name whispered as it passed her but she shook it off as her imagination.

She would go with her mother to the market to restock the pantry with food, they would ride the old carriage that had been her father's down to Norfolk proper where Saeko seemed to know each and every person. It would take them a long time just to cross the street because she had to stop and talk with everyone who passed by. Saeko would introduce Natsuki to all of them, some of whom remembered her from when she was young but she had no memory of them so she would smile politely and wait for them to move on.

When they arrived at the marketplace Saeko seemed to be everywhere at once, checking prices at multiple vendors for the best while checking for quality and volume. To Natsuki's amazement she always seemed to get the best deals, like a magician she pays mere dollars for bushels of fruits and grains.

Natsuki follows along dutifully, mostly to carry the things back to the carriage while she continues. On her way back from one of these trips she is looking around her when she notices something written on the side of one of the crates in one of the market stalls, something that immediately catches her attention. She shoves her way through the crowd around the stall to get a closer look at the crate and there, clear as day in simple black lettering, was a name she had not thought to see again. Viola Plantations.

"Shizuru..." She whispered under her breath. One of the vendors came over to her and asked her if she needed help but she responded that she didn't and walked away in a daze.

Saeko found her walking through the crowd. "Natsuki, where were you? I was looking for you."

"I was...I saw...something."

She could see that her daughter was flustered and put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go home."

On the ride home her mind was full of Shizuru. She shook her head of those thoughts. It's foolish. I stabbed her and left her for dead in that manor. It's most likely another Viola. I'm just overcome with guilt. She spent the whole ride in silence, ate dinner in silence and retired to her bedroom in silence.

She became increasingly more distracted as the days passed and Saeko started to worry. She would often find her daughter staring off into the west and one day she decided to talk with her. "Natsuki," she sat with her on the porch of the main house, "you left something out there, didn't you? Someone important." Natsuki didn't have to nod or speak, Saeko knew the truth. "You can't live on what ifs."

"It can't be her."

"How do you know?" Natsuki didn't know, she didn't even know how she had gotten back home. "Maybe you should go find out."

"But the farm..."

"Natsuki we're doing just fine. The harvest is about to come in and we've got plenty of strong hands. We're staying right here." Saeko took her daughter's hand and gripped it. "Go and find her. I'll bet she's looking for you too."

Natsuki took her mother's advice. The next morning, two months after waking up in her bed, she saddled up one of the horses and gave her mother a hug goodbye. Her and a few of the men watched Natsuki ride away with a week's worth of supplies and hope in her heart. She rode west, down main roads and empty fields looking for the battlefield that she had abandoned so long ago, the only point of reference she had to even find the Viola plantation.

She found it a few days ride west of Norfolk, a deserted wood that she immediately recognized as the site of the gunshot wound that drove her to the manor in the first place. Her memory was hazy after the shot but she was able to follow the direction she had run in and before long she was riding up a familiar path. Just over the rise of the hill she saw it and her heart skipped a beat. The Viola manor, just as she remembered it.

She trotted her horse up the path and noticed that around her the harvest was happening and many hands were working the long stretches of fields to either side of the manor. She rode up to the front door and dismounted, a boy came up from the house to take her horse and an older woman walked up to meet her. She opened her mouth but Natsuki beat her to the punch. "Is Shizuru Viola in?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Ms. Viola is taking lunch right now. If you'd like to..."

Natsuki didn't stop to hear what she said. She merely strode passed her and into the manor. The woman followed closely after, explaining that she did not wish to be disturbed but Natsuki was beyond hearing her. Inside was the same as she remembered only brighter. She swept quickly through the house making her way to the dining and room and throwing open the doors. Her heart stopped for the second time that day when she saw her sitting across the table, her brown hair still long and well brushed. "Shizuru."

Her voice carried across the room and Shizuru's head lifted. Their eyes met and Natsuki could clearly see the bewilderment in her eyes before they changed to pure mirth. "Natsuki?" She rose from the chair and sound of her fork hitting the porcelain plate was immediately followed by her light footsteps as she crossed the room and nearly threw herself into Natsuki's waiting arms.

Natsuki held Shizuru close, lifted her chin with her hand and kissed her deep. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Shizuru looked up into her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I always knew you'd come back to me."

"But, how...?"

Shizuru shrugged, indicating that she didn't know any more than Natsuki did. "I just came to in the manor. I thought I might have died at first, and that this was hell but seeing you here makes me think this is heaven." Natsuki kissed her again, a passionate kiss that conveyed just how much she had missed her. Shizuru felt heavier, her knees were weak from being held in her arms. "Are you staying?"

"I'm never letting you go again."

Shizuru all but pulled her to the bedroom and it looked the same as she remembered it. The bed was still as soft as she remembered it as she lay down with her love. They melted into each other and gave in to the passion that the both of them felt. When Natsuki finally lay her head back on the pillow she had never felt more satisfied in her life. Shizuru lay beside her, one arm around her waist and her head laying against her chest. Shizuru closed her eyes until her breathing evened out. Out of curiosity, there had been no time to check during their lovemaking, Natsuki moved Shizuru's hair over her shoulder exposing her chest and saw what she had been looking for. Just beneath her right breast was a scar that could only come from a dagger.

Natsuki seperated from Shizuru and threw on some quick clothes. She walked through the manor, receiving all manner of strange looks. She didn't care what they thought, she had one goal in mind. She left the backdoor of the manor and out into the garden, which looked a lot more alive than the last time she had seen it. She walked the gravel pathway to the rear wall and there found what she was looking for. The burgundy rose still grew from the dirt on the wall but something was different. It seemed brighter, almost happier, then she noticed why.

In the ground next to it had sprouted another rose, but this one bloomed an emerald green.

I hope you all enjoyed this short story.